Welcome!

Welcome to RS Games BattleShip, an accessible, online, multiplayer version of the classic guessing game Battleship! RS Games Battleship utilizes the RS Games client, which allows players to play against each other from around the world, via the centralized RS Games server.

To get started, you will need the RS Games client installed. To get the RS Games client if you don't have it already, go to http://www.rsgames.org, connecting and logging into the server are covered in the RS Games client documentation. Alternatively, you can use the web client, from which you can play by using your web browser. Web Client Link.
This document assumes you have read the RS Games client documentation first, for general concepts and instructions on using the client. If you have not read this document, please read it before continuing.

If you are using the web client, options referred to as keyboard commands in this document will appear as buttons on the web page.

The Main Menu

Once you are connected, choose Battleship from the list of games, and you will be presented with the main menu. From there, you can create a new game, join a game, or see a list of existing games. Choose an option using the up and down arrow keys and the enter key, or by clicking on the option if you are using the web client.

Creating a New Game

If you choose to create a new game, you will be asked if you want to make the game private. If you choose yes, you can set a password, and only those who know the password will be able to join. After you have made your choice, you will be placed in your game. Here, players will be able to join your game. Please note that Battleship is a 2-Player game only.

Bots

Bots are computer players who will play against you if there are no other humans around to play with, or if you want to add more players to your game. If you are the creator of the game, you can press B to add a bot, or R to remove a bot.

Starting The Game

Once you are ready to start the game, press the Enter key.

Joining a Game

To join a game, choose the Join Game option from the main menu. You will be presented with a list of games that are open for players, along with the people playing in each game. Choose a game from the list, and press enter. If the game is private, you will then be asked to enter the password. Once you are in the game, you must wait for the game master to start the game.

Placing Your Ships

Once the game starts, you need to place where you want to put your ships on a 10x10 grid, identified by a letter and then a number (for example the first square is A1). Each row has a different letter. There are 5 different kinds of ships, each occupying a different number of squares on a grid.

Type of ship

Size

Aircraft Carrrier

5

Battleship

4

Cruiser

3

Submarine

3

Destroyer

2

When it is your turn to place your ships down, you have two options Automatic and Manual placement. If you choose Automatic movement, the computer will randomly place your ships down on the grid. If you choose Manual placement (I personally prefer this), simply use the left/right/up/down keys to explore the grid. When you find a place to place your ship that satisfies you, press the enter key. The square you choose should be the left-most section of the ship (for example if I put a Destroyer at A1, it would occupy A1 and A2). You may rotate a ship before placing it down my pressing the V key to rotate your ship vertically, and the H key to rotate your ship horizontally. Note that ships cannot overlap and must fit. (An example of a non-fitting ship is putting an Aircraft Carrier at A9. It requires 5 spaces (A9, A10, A11, A12 and A13). Since the highest number in the A Row is 10, it doesn't fit (A11, A12 and A13 do not exist!)

If using the web client, a grid will appear on the bottom of the page. Simply click on one of the buttons to select your option. Depending on the size of your screen, you may need to scroll down.

Playing The Game

Battleship is a relatively simple game. When it is your turn, you are presented with a 10x10 grid, similar to when you placed your ships (explore it with left/right/up/down, and use enter to choose). Your goal is to try to guess where your opponent has placed his/her ships. If you guessed the ship correctly, a hit sound is played, and if you missed, a splash sound is played. The last location you chose will be automatically focused when it is your turn.

Winning The Game

The first person to sink all 17 ships of their opponent wins the game. There is no time or score limit, and game continues until someone wins. Battleship games do not typically last long.

In Game Keyboard Commands

There are several keyboard commands that can be used to get information
about your current game:

Control+J: Allows you to enter a coordinate (such as B1) and press enter. It will be focused on the grid for you.

O: Shows you ships the opponent has sunk.

V: When placing your ships down, rotates your ship vertically.

H: When placing your ships down, rotates your ship horizontally.

S: Tells you what, if any, ships you have sunk.

Q: Leave the game.

F1: To get help from admins (works similar to chat.)

F2: Send a chat message to players in the game. If you are in the main menu, this will send a chat message to all players waiting for a game.

F3: Lower the volume of the background music.

F4: Raise the volume of the background music.

F5: Lower the volume of all sounds.

F6: Raise the volume of all sounds.

W: Who's online.

TAB: Get game information such as who's in the current game, who is the game master, and who is a bot.

Chatting

You can chat with other players at any point during game play by pressing the F2 key, typing your message into the input box and pressing enter. You can also chat at the main menu to other players who are not currently in a game, also by pressing F2.

Background music

To change the volume of the background music during the game, use F3 to lower the volume and F4 to raise the volume. You can also adjust the volume of the sound effects with F5 and F6 to lower or raise the volume, respectively.

Transcripts

You can opt to receive a transcript of your game, that is, an email containing the entire text of your game. When you leave a game, you will be asked if you would like to receive a transcript. If you would, choose Yes, and the transcript will be sent to the email address you used when creating your RS Games account.

Credits

Thanks to the following people for helping to create RS Games Battleship:

Developers: Ryan Smith

Sound Contributors: Naama Shang

All of the beta testers

Support and Contact Information

If you have any problems using any of the games released by RS Games, or have a question, bug report, suggestion, feature request, or anything else, feel free to contact RS Games by sending an email to rsgames@gmail.com.